With all the talk about buying the latest and greatest the instant they’re available, are there any significant improvements over 2024 models? Has anyone popped 640 on a scope and it not cost 15 grand? Just curious if there’s any major improvements or just minor changes to existing models.

640’s are cheap, unless I’m missing what you’re asking for. The 1280’s are $$$$$

I was wondering if anyone has come out with 1280's under 10-15 grand or anything else that's wow image improvement or if everything is pretty much 2024 but with minor options improvement.

I've got experience with only this thermal. I don't think it's the specs you're looking for. I do really enjoy it, though.

https://pulsarnv.com/products/thermion-2-lrf-xg50

I have the NOCPIX Ace which is new this year. It’s a really nice 640 and if you shop you can get it around 5000.00. There are plenty UTube video’s on it.

https://outdoorlegacygear.com/products/thermion-2-lrf-xl50-1-75-14x-thermal-rifle-scope

https://outdoorlegacygear.com/products/agm-evolver-lrf-1280-2-5-20x-thermal-rifle-scope

https://outdoorlegacygear.com/products/pulsar-thermion-2-xl60-lrf-2-5-20x

I believe this is what you are asking for…yes, 1280’s less than 10k

The problem is that they are still emerging technology. You get the higher resolution but things like focal depth of field, Hz rate, etc. are still in development such that 640s are often still superior in some ways. So they are getting the price down, which is good, but are still catching up on some areas of functionality.

Thermion - what a great name. just rolls off the tongue. I do seriously like saying it. too rich for my blood at this point in my life.

That’s pretty much what I was asking.

I think there's just an inescapable downside to buying thermals. The first injury is the initial outlay, which requires a bandaid...and then there's the inevitable depreciation to be faced when you decide to upgrade and that's like ripping said bandaid off. I won't even mention the rapid onset of obsolescence, which is also somewhat painful---oops, there I went and mentioned it.

It's a lot like anticipating the low temperature of a swimming pool after a summer rain. Best thing to do is just jump right in. After a while the water feels just fine.

Thank you for the links sir!

Yes the good news is there is no current thermal scope on the market today from a major hunting thermal manufacturer over $7,000. Well the N-Vison Halo XRF is $7,125 now, so that's close. So literally if you call any thermal dealer and say I want your MOST expensive thermal scope, you're looking at $7,000. And for that $7,000 you can get a 1280 resolution optic with a built in LRF, ballistic calculator, 2560x2560 display screen and every other bell and whistle you can imagine. Pretty exciting times and a whole lot different than 5+ years ago.

Jason

I agree with RiverRider and so I just buy in late December and it’s gone down the road no later than March. I have done this the past 4 years. I have a season that I use it often and when that ends it’s gone.

Still enjoying my Bering Super Hogster. It's got everything I need. I thought it was big $ at $2k used...

Yep. There are times when an upgrade yields real advantages, but sometimes it is hard to resist the pack mentality that the internet has bred. I was amazed at how Labradar became [perceived as] second rate almost overnight. The same thing happens with thermals and other high tech stuff.

My nephew has my first thermal now, a Pulsar XQ30 (I think) Trail and he loves it. I've upgraded several times since I bought that one and see a difference, but in the real world I could have kept that one and done everything with it that I've done with my upgraded units.